Electric floor heating systems typically include meshwork mats which have electric heating elements threaded through them to distribute the heat uniformly throughout the floor. The mat construction is embedded in the substrate of the floor and is then covered with finish flooring materials such as tile, marble, stone, wood, vinyl, carpet or another type of floor covering.
Problems can arise during the course of the installation because it is normal for two different professional trade groups to be involved. A floor covering tradesman usually is involved in installing the meshwork mat and embedding it in the flooring, typically in mortar or another similar base in which tile or stone is set. After the mat has been permanently embedded in place in the floor, an electrician normally completes the electrical connection of the system to a power source and a control device such as a thermostat and/or timer.
Floor covering tradesmen do not normally have training or expertise in electronics, house wiring or heating element technology. It is not uncommon for the flooring personnel to damage the heating elements during their installation work. Further, the damaged heating element, unbeknownst to anyone, may be covered by the flooring personnel with finished flooring before the electrician shows up to notice that the system is not able to function properly. At that point, it is necessary to tear up the floor in order to gain access to the damaged area of the wires and effect the necessary repairs. It is not uncommon for the entire floor covering to be torn up and removed in such an instance. Obviously, the costs of material, labor and delay involved in this type of repair is significant, particularly when the floor covering is tile, stone or marble which is set in a mortar bed or the like.
At present, the technology that is prevalent for monitoring the floor heating system during installation involves use of an ohmmeter which measures the resistance of the wires and provides a read out either on a scale or on a display. Non-electricians, including flooring installers, often find it difficult at best to calibrate an ohmmeter. In any event, an ohmmeter is unable to completely monitor all of the potential problems that can arise during installation and is unable to provide an indication of all types of wire damage that might occur.
Typical damage to the resistance elements takes place when flooring professionals or carpenters drive nails or staples into the flooring and pierce the ground shield that normally surrounds the hot and neutral wires. The metal fastener can create a short circuit between the ground conductor and either the hot or neutral conductor, thus creating a malfunction in the wiring system. Another type of problem that can occur results from a fastener being driven through either the hot or neutral wire in order to create a discontinuity. Unless problems of this type are recognized when they occur, the damage can be covered up by finished flooring and necessitate later tearing up of the floor.